Search This Blog

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Blow Out the Candles April 2

Hall of Famer Hugh Jennings was born in Pittston, Pa on this date in 1869.

1992 Conlon Collection #556

1991 Conlon Collection #16

Frank Chance and Hugh Jennings, 1907 World Series

Ee-Yah!

White Sox great and Hall of Famer Luke Appling was born in High Point NC, on this date in 1907.

2006 SP Legendary Cuts #58

Luke had a career average of .310 and was a 7 time all-star.

Luke with fans in the mid 1940's

One of Luke's nicknames was "Old Aches and Pains". Sportswriter Maury Allen wrote, "When (Luke) Appling was around, the real blunder was to ask him, 'How do you feel?' It would sometimes take half an hour before he stopped telling you."

Though Ebsen began his career in 1928 he is best known for a role he made famous starting in 1962, that of Beverly Hills patriarch, Jed Clampett.

Ebsen was cast as the Tin Man in "The Wizard of Oz".

From Wikipedia:

"Ten days into the shoot, however, Ebsen suffered a reaction to the aluminum powder makeup he wore; the powder he breathed in daily as it was applied had coated his lungs. Ebsen was hospitalized in critical condition, and subsequently was forced to leave the project; in a later interview (included on the 2005 DVD release of The Wizard of Oz), Ebsen recalled the studio heads initially disbelieving that he was seriously ill, only realizing the extent of the actor's condition when they showed up in the hospital as he was convalescing in an iron lung. Ebsen's sudden medical departure caused the film to shut down while a new actor was found to fill the part. No full footage of Ebsen as the Tin Man has ever been released — only photographs taken during filming and test photos of different makeup styles remain. MGM did not publicize the reasons for Ebsen's departure until decades later, in a promotional documentary about the film. His replacement, Jack Haley, simply assumed he had been fired. Ironically, despite his near-death experience, Ebsen outlived all of the principal cast members by at least sixteen years, although his film career was damaged by the incident."